Ostrov

a city and administrative center of Ostrov Raion, Pskov Oblast, RSFSR. Situated on the Velikaia River, which flows into Lake Pskov. Railroad station 55 km south of Pskov. Population, 27,000 (1974). Ostrov has a branch of the Pskov Electrical Machine-building Plant. It also has milk, flax-processing, and meat-packing plants. Founded in the mid-14th century, Ostrov became a city in 1777.

a settlement in Lenin Raion, Moscow Oblast. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Ostrov was an estate for the tsars.

The white-stone Church of the Transfiguration (late 16th century), situated on a high hill overlooking the Moscow River downstream (near Moscow), served as a lookout. The church is made up of numerous tiers and is square in plan. There are two pairs of projections on the western side. A low octagonal superstructure supports a massive eight-sided tent spire. On the eastern side there are two symmetrically placed chapels. The chapels are connected at their western end by a closed gallery, which was added later. The cupola, the octagonal superstructure, and the drums of the chapels are lavishly decorated at the bottom with rows of kokoshniki (corbeled-out, round or pointed arches arranged in receding tiers). A pseudo-Gothic bell tower is situated near the church.